Life Goes On
by kaddarsgirl
Summary: Like the title says, this is about life moving on after a tragic event. It takes place approximately 8 years post Lady Knight.
1. Winter Solstice: Dawn

**I do not own anything except for characters that I have made up... Names and people belong to Tamora Pierce. It starts out depressing, but I swear it's not all like that. Comments are greatly appreciated. This is my first fanfic.**

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Tortallan Royal Palace.

12:59 A.M.

All is well.

1 A.M.

King Jonathan IV of Conte is taken to the Realms of the Dead by the Black God. The Palace sleeps.

5:30 A.M.

Queen Thayet of Conte wakes up in a cold sweat after a nightmare. She is breathing heavily and sweating under her down comforter. She rises, placing her feet on the cold flagstone floor beside the bed. She stands and walks to the window, opens the shutters, and stares out into the cold winter night. She watches the snow fall on the palace and the gardens.

5:45 A.M.

Thayet notices and unusual silence around her. She turns from the window, leaving the shutters open, and feeling uneasy. She walks slowly to the bed and stands beside her husband's body. The king lies still; no breath escapes him. She takes his hand in hers. It is cold as ice. Thayet drops to the floor as her legs give way beneath her.

5:50 A.M.

Alone, Thayet cries on the cold stone floor. Tears stream from her eyes. She wraps her arms around her body and holds on tight as she rocks back and forth, shaking from head to toe. Her world has come crashing down and lays in ruin. The man she loved with all her heart is dead beside her.

6:00 A.M.

A young chambermaid wakes from a restful sleep. As she gets out of bed to begin her day's work, Mae hears a noise in the adjacent room. It sounds like crying, but she thinks she imagines it. No one would be crying at 6 in the morning in the Royal bedchamber. As she crosses the room to the washroom, she hears the noise again. She opens the door adjoining her room to the king and queen's and knocks. No one answers but the cries seem to get louder. She pushes open the door.

6:05 A.M.

Mae enters the Royal bedchamber to find the king alone in bed, the queen nowhere in sight. She gingerly walks around the base of the bed and finds the queen on the floor beside the sleeping king. The queen's face is red and splotchy, and the front of her thin gown in soaked through with tears. Mae looks at the king, wondering why he didn't wake to his wife's cries. The king remains unmoving, dead.

6:10 A.M.

After attempting to comfort the queen, to no avail, Mae leaves the bedchamber at a run. She sprints through the halls of the palace in her bare feet. She races toward the infirmary as fast as her legs can carry her. Entering the waiting room she rushes toward the receptionist and urgently explains her findings. The Chief Royal Healer is summoned.

7:30 A.M.

Chief Healer Warric, after careful examination of the king's body, cannot determine cause of death. Thayet's tears have subsided, but her sorrow still aches through her body. Her stomach is in knots, and her chest is tight. Her eyes burn and her face is speckled red from crying, but she doesn't care. She fears at any moment that her tears will return. Questions now surface in her mind. What happened last night?


	2. Winter Solstice: Early Morning

**A/N: ****Sorry for the break between chapters. Been a little busy after the first one. Hopefully the rest will come closer together than these first two.**

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Chapter 2: Winter Solstice. Early Morning.

6:15 A.M.

Mae, after delivering the Chief Royal Healer to the Royal apartments, walks down the hall and knocks on a door. There is no answer, so she knocks louder. Still no answer. Mae uses her emergency key to open the door. She enters a dark apartment and walks to the door in the back right corner. She knocks on this door and hears movement within.

6:20 A.M.

Stockinged feet pad slowly across the floor from within. The door slowly opens to reveal a half-asleep black-haired man in his mid-twenties. Mae excuses herself for the intrusion and kindly asks the man to wake his wife, so she may speak to both to them at once.

6:25 A.M.

Crown Prince and Princess Roald and Shinkokami of Conte sit in their living room chairs and listen as the chambermaid explains to them what has happened. They are in disbelief. Roald stares blankly into the distance. Shinko grips his arm with white fingers. Neither moves.

6:35 A.M.

Without a word, the prince and princess slowly get to their feet. Shinko leaves through a door off the living room, Princess Lianokami's bedroom. Roald leaves through the entry door. Mae sits alone.

6:40 A.M.

Roald walks 10 steps down the hall to the right, and stops. He leans against the door to his brother's rooms. Shinko explains to Liano that grandfather has died, but she's too young to understand. Shinko leaves Liano in Mae's care, then exits her rooms.

6:45 A.M.

Shinko joins her husband in the hall. The two embrace, Roald's strong arms holding tight onto his bride. Both gather the courage to enter the King and Queen's apartments.

6:55 A.M.

Roald attempts to comfort his mother, but she does not listen. She waits. She shakes. Roald and Shinko leave to wake the others.

7:00 A.M.

The Duke of Conte is first to be woken. He opens the door to find his elder brother, a blank look on his face, but eyes shining with held back tears. Duke Liam wakes his sleeping wife and goes to be with the Queen.

7:05 A.M.

Prince Jasson is next. Shinko wakes him and delivers her terrible news.

7:10 A.M.

Princesses Lianne and Vania are the next to be awakened. Lianne's maid also rises.

7:15 A.M.

The family gathers in the Royal Bedchamber. No one cares about the cold or the nightclothes. They all wait.

7:30 A.M.

Warric concludes "causes unknown". Lianne's maid is sent to find the Duke of Queenscove and his son. They all wait.


	3. Winter Solstice: Morning

**A/N: So here's chapter 3...moving along. I know it seems kind of slow right now, but bear with me. It will pick up as there are more peoples' stories to tell.**

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Chapter 3: Winter Solstice. Morning.

7:40 A.M.

Duke Baird and his son arrive at the Royal apartments with Lianne's maid, Annalynn. Baird walks to the king. His son walks to the queen.

7:45 A.M.

Baird examines the body of the king. His hands glow with emerald fire and his head is bent, his eyes are closed. His son examines Queen Thayet, as he comforts her. He gives her tea, to help with her physical symptoms. Only time and her family could heal the rest.

8:00 A.M.

Baird beckons to his son, who joins him at the king's side. Roald moves to hug his mother. Neal's dark green gift joins his father's as they work together.

8:05 A.M.

The green glow subsides. Neal leans against the wall. Duke Baird approaches the queen and Roald, to give them the news. He explains that the king had a stroke. A clot had formed in his brain, and he had died suddenly. There was no way to stop it. The clot was small but blocked an essential artery. Baird explains that had he known earlier, there is still not much he could have done. He is truly sorry.

8:15 A.M.

Thayet is still in shock. She cannot believe what is happening. Breaking her son's embrace, she walks to her husband's body. She leans over to kiss him one last time. She whispers something to him and drops to her knees in prayer. Her family watches as they hold on to each other.

8:20 A.M.

Roald grabs Chief Healer Warric's right arm. He drags him out into the hall and shoves him into the wall. Warric is fired.

8:25 A.M.

Released, Warric leaves the Royal apartment wing at a quick pace, and walks to the infirmary to clear out his office. Four months as Chief Healer and dismissed already. Roald heads back into his parent's bedroom to be with his family. Annalynn is sent to awaken the Prime Minister, the Champion, and the Knight Commander.

8:30 A.M.

Princess Shinkokami returns to her rooms to be with her daughter. Liano wants to see Grandda. Shinko tries to explain that Liano cannot see Grandda, but Liano cries. They rejoin the rest of the family.

8:35 A.M.

Liano walks to Grandda and tries to wake him. When he doesn't stir she cries louder, and turns into Thayet's open arms.

8:45 A.M.

Duke Gareth of Naxen, Lord Raoul of Goldenlake and Malorie's Peak, and Lady Alanna arrive with their spouses. It is decided that a courier should be sent to Carthak. It is necessary to inform the Empress Kalasin of her father's death. Mae is sent with a letter addressed to Kalasin, and instructions for a courier. As she leaves, Alanna approaches Thayet and kneels beside her. Roald explains the night and morning events to everyone who is newly arrived. Neal and his father leave to retrieve a stretcher pallet from the infirmary.

9:00 A.M.

Neal and his father return. As they hold the stretcher pallet, Gary and Raoul lift Jonathan's body and place it gently on the pallet. They take over the pallet from Neal and his father, and leave the room.

9:30 A.M.

King Jonathan's body is placed in a burial chamber in the catacombs beneath the palace. Guards are set to protect the body as funeral preparations are made. Crown Prince Roald addresses the nobles at breakfast. Everyone is silent.


	4. Winter Solstice: Mid Morning

**A/N: I know I'm terrible and have taken a few months to get this new chapter online. But...we get to see Jonathan after death in this one! One or two more chapters I think, and then you all will get to see more people. I know it's been mostly the Royal family so far. Getting back to writing this story so things should move faster, I hope!**

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Chapter 4: Winter Solstice. Mid Morning.

9:30 A.M.

Roald stands on the dais alone, facing the nobles gathered before him. He tries to speak, but it takes several moments before his voice begins to work. The nobles can see he is upset and sit in silence, waiting. They know the news is bad.

9:35 A.M.

Roald delivers the toughest speech he has ever had to give. He tells the nobles of his father's sudden death.

9:45 A.M.

No one has stirred. Everyone, including Roald is silent. Slowly the nobles begin to whisper amongst themselves. Women and men alike shed tears. Jonathan was a well-loved King. His people miss him.

9:50 A.M.

Roald breaks through the whispers and the tears. He tells his nobles that the King's body is in the catacombs and that visitors are welcome. Funeral plans are yet to be made. He remains on the dais. His friends among the nobles join him and offer their most heart-felt sympathies and their help.

10:00 A.M.

Several nobles leave to be with their families and deliver the news of the king's death. More nobles leave and head down to catacombs to pray before the body of Jonathan. Sirs Owen of Jesslaw, Merric of Hollyrose, and Lady Knight Keladry of Mindelan accompany Roald back to the Royal Wing.

10:15 A.M.

The first nobles arrive at the Jonathan's burial chamber, and are met by four Royal Guards. They enter one at a time and kneel before the body of the king. Some sit in silence. Some pray for the king. Some pray for the Royal Family. Some offer flowers along with their prayers. Children and the elderly, men and women, nobles and servants; they all kneel before their king. The burial chamber is dark. It is lit only by four torches which cast an eerie glow in the room and on Jonathan's body.

Time...Endless Time...

In the Realms of the Dead, Jonathan sits by a river. The sun shines brightly and water flows past. He hears voices in the distance, voices he has heard before, voice he though he had been imagining for what seemed like ages. He strained to hear. Finally he makes out some of the words. They are prayers. Prayers to him, prayers for him, prayers for his family. Jonathan feels happy and he feels loved. He had tried to be a good man and a good king; be a good father and grandfather; be a good friend. He had wanted to make a difference in the lives of those he touched. With the prayers that reach his ears, he knows he has changed the lives of so many people for the better. He knows he is missed.

Jonathan knows not how long he sits by the river and listens to the prays. Slowly shadows appear from across the river. At first he doesn't see them, but slowly they come into view. They blend in with the surrounds, edges undefined, shapes undefined, just shadows. As time passes they change before Jonathan's eyes. They shadows sharpen, figures appear, colors become clear. As they reach the opposite bank of the river Jonathan knows who they are. His family stands before him. His father looks to him with kind blue eyes. His mother stands before him looking healthy ones more. His grandparents, his aunts, his uncles, his family back to the beginning of time. They all have come. They have come to welcome him. Jonathan stands and wades through the river. He is not wet. He emerges on the other side and walks into his parents' loving arms. He sees now they were never shadows at all. They glow with a soft, warm, soothing light.


End file.
